A rail fare dodger was finally caught after evading a staggering £20,000 in ticket costs in one of the UK’s biggest rail dodging cases of its kind. The offender was caught after investigators copped on to his scam which saw him pay for only a small part of his full journey from Surrey to London Waterloo. He was able to fraudulantly buy an e-ticket only from Vauxhall to Waterloo which made his ticket significantly cheaper.
To make this journey fare even cheaper, the adult also used a 16-17 Saver Railcard which discounts his price a further 50% off. His plans were finally foiled after a South Western Railway (SWR) revenue protection team identified the passenger on CCTV, later catching him in the act at Waterloo station.
Officers pursued a prosecution from the passenger after finding he had evaded a total of £20,000 since 2022 which averages to £35 a day for over three years.
Known as “doughnut tickets” the scam involves buying a short ticket for only the first part of the journey and then scanning the QR code upon the entry barrier.
Passengers then get another short ticket for the last section of their journey and scan the QR code at the destination station.
“Doughnut tickets” make for a much cheaper fare compared to paying full price as passengers do not pay for the lengthier middle part of their trip thus creating a hole in the journey hence the name.
Passengers are able to be undetected via their journey as they still have a valid ticket upon entering at the starting point and the exit at the destination going undetected by an inspector.
The man is one of many “short farers” with Vauxhall being a renowned spot for fare dodgers.
Some passengers on SWR are seen travelling into London from places much further afield however they only buy an e-ticket from a nearby stop near Waterloo which is often Vauxhall and results in a much cheaper fare ticket.
The rising fair dodgers was further explored in the latest episode of a Channel 5 documentary called “Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law” and depicted the work of undercover officers being deployed across stations in the UK.
In the documentary, officers investigated SWR data and noted how the man had purchased two tickets per day and applied a 16-17 Saver Railcard each time giving him a 50% discount he was not entitled to.
Officers then waited for him on the platform at Waterloo and intercepted him, asking: “Can I see your ticket, the one you just had there? So where have you travelled from today?”
The passenger then replied: “Er, from **** today, well **** this morning, sorry.
Asked why he bought the wrong ticket, the passenger replied: “Just because I didn’t get one this morning. It didn’t have barriers at the end. There’s not always a service at ****.
In the video the officers then discuss how the interception followed an eight-week investigation, adding: “I’m so pleased that the team has managed to catch him. A real team effort, real sense of elation this morning.”
‘Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law’ is on Channel 5 on Monday, May 26 at 9pm
